The divisions over Gaza and Ukraine marked the start of the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Rio de Janeiro this Wednesday, in which Brazil harshly criticized the “paralysis” of the UN Security Council in resolving these conflicts.
The meeting, the first high-level of the forum chaired by Brazil this year, takes place in the midst of controversy over the statements of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who accused Israel of committing “genocide” in the Gaza Strip.
“Multilateral institutions are not adequately equipped to deal with current challenges, as demonstrated by the unacceptable paralysis of the Security Council” on Ukraine and Gaza, Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira told his counterparts when opening the meeting.
Brazil wants to take advantage of its role as host to promote a “reformulation” of multilateral organizations, especially the Security Council of the United Nations, which has repeatedly failed to reach agreements on the wars in Ukraine and Gaza due to respective vetoes of the United States and Russia.
The United States, for example, on Tuesday again vetoed a Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
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During a previous meeting in Brasilia with Lula, the head of US diplomacy, Antony Blinken, expressed his “disagreement” with the Brazilian's statements about Gaza.
“The secretary addressed the (Gaza) issue and made clear our disagreement with those comments,” a senior State Department official said after the meeting.
Lula also compared the military campaign in the Palestinian territory to the Holocaust. His comments outraged Israel, which declared the leftist president “persona non grata.”
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Blinken and the Russian Sergei Lavrov participate in the meeting of foreign ministers in Rio. While a meeting between the two is not expected, Lavrov will meet with Lula this Thursday in Brasilia, according to sources from the Brazilian presidency.
Before the start of the meeting in Rio, the Russian Foreign Minister spoke with his counterparts from Brazil, Mauro Vieira, and from Mexico, Alicia Bárcena.
There is also no optimism on the horizon for the war in Ukraine, about to enter his third year.
Despite the West's attempt to condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion, The last G20 summit held in September in New Delhi ended with a vague statement which denounced the use of force but did not mention Russia, which maintains cordial relations with members such as Brazil and India.
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Tensions with Russia increased after the death in prison of the opponent Alexei Navalny, announced on Friday. Western powers blamed Putin and the United States announced that it would adopt an “important package of sanctions” against Russia.
“No one should doubt the oppressive nature of the Russian system,” British Foreign Secretary David Cameron was quoted as saying in a statement on Wednesday. Cameron will take advantage of his presence at the G20 to denounce “Russian aggression” in Ukraine, “directly” before Lavrov.
The G20, which is held in front of the sea in Rio, will address on Thursday the reform of global governance entities, like the UN and the IMF. Brazil defends a greater weight for the countries of the global South.
“The number and severity of conflicts has returned to the level of the Cold War. This makes (reform) more urgent,” Mauricio Lyrio, G20 Brazilian “sherpa” for Brazil, said Tuesday. Lyrio deplored that for now the world is limited to “putting out fires.”
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Brazil also made the fight against hunger and international action against climate change priorities of its presidency. A Brazilian government source explained that, after the latest dissensions, The presidency decided that it will no longer be necessary to reach a joint statement at each meeting, with the exception of the G20 leaders' summit, which will be held in Rio in November.
That does not mean fewer meetings: Brazil will organize a second meeting of foreign ministers, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September in New York, with the intention of involving all member countries of the organization.
AFP
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